Grades and percentages

[januarysunshine]

Hello, can anyone please tell me what % is equal to what grades in secondary school. My kids tests come back marked in % and we want to match this to grades. Have not been able to find anything in google to explain it clearly. Thank you in advance.

It depends - that's unanswerable really! Have you asked the teacher?

Grade boundaries shift every series so it's not possible to tell you what % of the mark equals which grade.

As above - the % that align to GCSE grades change each year, though you can find the grade boundaries online for 2019 easily enough which gives some sort of guide, assuming you are looking at GCSE year work.

It also differs per subject - a % that gets you a 9 in maths will be different to that in history, for example.

Grade boundaries don't apply to class tests.

Surely that also depends on the test.....so if your child gets 100% on a test but the questions are all grade 2 or below it would only equate to a grade 2.

I believe some schools are using % instead of grades because grades are equated to an end point. Many schools predict a child's grades at the end of year 11 when they join the school in year 7. For many children that is problematic because low ability children never get that feeling of needing to aspire to anything higher (they don't believe they are good enough) and it's too much pressure for some high achievers (who are scared of letting someone down). A % in a test is more likely to enable an individual student to understand how that student is achieving, in relation to peers and where the teacher would expect them to be for their specific point in their educational journey.

I'm in Ni ccea exam board and I was told an example 35/60 was a C = 58%
Maths marked out of 100 need about 58% to get a C

Google won't be able to tell you as it will depend on what kind of test they are, what level questions are being asked etc. You will need to ask the teacher who set the tests.

Thank you all, I didn't realise how complicated this is.. Entry criteria for 6th form is in grades, her secondary school tests come back in % so not sure what kind of school is suitable at all. Will see what they say when I ask the question. Thanks again!

The mention of sixth form makes me think this must be Year 11. Surely you must have an inkling as to whether your child is looking at top grades, medium level grades, borderline pass/fail or lucky to pass?

And most people apply for more than one sixth form where their first chance is one where there is a chance of not meeting grades.

She needs to ask her teachers what her predicted grades are and tell them she needs it for 6th form applications.

She should be doing mocks soon so will get some idea then.